About this compress pdf
Upload portals for exams, jobs, visas and banks often cap PDFs at 1 MB or 500 KB, and email attachments bounce above 20–25 MB. This compressor re-renders each page at a sensible resolution and stores it as an optimised image, which works especially well for scanned documents and phone-camera PDFs.
How to use the Compress PDF
- Drop the PDF you want to shrink.
- Choose a level: Recommended for most files, Strong for the smallest size, Light for best quality.
- Tick grayscale for black-and-white scans to save even more space.
- Press Compress PDF, compare original and new size, and download the smaller file.
Features
- Three presets (72, 110 and 150 DPI) plus optional grayscale.
- Shows the exact before/after size and percentage saved.
- Warns you instead of making a bigger file when a PDF is already optimised.
- Private: nothing is uploaded, ideal for ID proofs and certificates.
Frequently asked questions
How do I compress a PDF to under 1 MB or 500 KB?
Start with Recommended. If the result is still too big, use Strong and tick grayscale for scanned papers. Very long documents may also need to be split into parts with our Split PDF tool.
Will the text stay selectable?
No. Pages are converted to images to save space, so text can no longer be selected or searched. Keep the original if you need that.
Why did my PDF not get smaller?
PDFs made of plain digital text are already compact; turning them into images can make them larger. The tool detects this and tells you to keep the original.
Is it safe for confidential documents?
Yes. Compression runs completely in your browser and the file is never sent to a server.
Which level should I pick for printing?
Choose Light (150 DPI). It keeps text crisp on paper while still reducing most scanned PDFs noticeably.